The Kansas City Chiefs knew they needed to upgrade the running back position after a 6-11 finish last season
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs knew they needed to upgrade their running attack even before they sat home — a rarity for the playoffs, especially after three straight Super Bowl trips — and watched the Seattle Seahawks win their own Lombardi Trophy by running right through the New England Patriots.
What better way to do that than by signing the guy who did the running that night?
Ever selective when it comes to giving big money to free agents, the Chiefs decided it was worthwhile to give Kenneth Walker III a three-year, $43.05 million contract this past offseason, and have a true No. 1 running back for the first time in years.
It was the second-biggest free-agent deal given to a running back behind Travis Etienne's contract with the New Orleans Saints.
Like most of the first-team offense, Walker sat out all but a handful of plays during the preseason. So when the Chiefs open the regular season against the AFC West champion Denver Broncos on Monday night, it will be their first chance to see whether the investment in a potentially game-changing offensive playmaker has paid off.
“Yeah, he's a stud,” said Creed Humphrey, the Chiefs' two-time All-Pro center. “He's one of those guys that can get a lot of stuff done."
The decision by Walker to join the Chiefs was a marriage that made sense.
On the one hand, Kansas City was desperate to add a true No. 1 running back for the first time since 2017, when Kareem Hunt was in his first go-around with the team and the Chiefs had their most recent 1,000-yard running back. On the other hand, Walker was seeking that exact, clearly defined role after splitting time with Zach Charbonnet while he was with the Seahawks.
It took Charbonnet tearing his ACL in their playoff opener against San Francisco for Walker to assume such duties. And he proceeded to carry Seattle all the way to a Super Bowl title, running for 135 yards against the Patriots in the big game.
“He does kind of it all,” said Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is coming off torn ligaments in his own knee, and who may stand to benefit the most from a running back who can keep opposing defenses honest.
The past few years, the Chiefs have been so skewed offensively toward the pass that defenses basically abandoned the box, making it harder for wide receivers to get open. Nobody respected the play-action game, let alone gave Mahomes time to look past his first few reads in a play, and the result was an offense that hardly resembled the dynamic outfit of old.
“When you have those guys on your team,” Mahomes said of Walker, “you have to find ways to get them the football. If that’s either just handing the ball off to them or throwing it to them, you’ve got to, and so we got him for a reason.”
The Chiefs only returned Brashard Smith from last season, and the second-year pro is more of an undersized, change-of-pace option in the passing game. Otherwise, the only other running back on the active roster is Emmett Johnson, a rookie from Nebraska.
It's not quite Walker-or-bust. But close.
“He came in with the right mindset and mentality, and he’s really attacked this offseason,” Mahomes said. “I think he’s as excited as anybody to get out there in Arrowhead (Stadium) and have Chiefs Kingdom behind him.”
Walker is quiet by nature, which sometimes seems at odds with the physical way in which he runs the ball. But he did acknowledge this week his building excitement about the start of the season, and a chance to make his Chiefs debut.
“Right now, I’m pretty chill," he said, "but I feel like when we get there, I’ll be super excited, just being able to go out there with my brothers and finally being able to showcase what we’ve been working on since OTAs.”
Walker understands there is pressure on his shoulders. He was the Chiefs' marquee signing after a disappointing 6-11 finish last season, and he's one of the main guys they are counting on to help them get back to the playoffs.
“He's an unbelievable player. A really good leader for us,” Chiefs running backs coach DeMarco Murray said. "He comes out every single day, he wants to get better, he doesn’t mind the hard coaching, but again, his biggest critique is himself. That helps you as a coach.
"He’s been everything, plus, that we’ve wanted.”
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